Display package

ABSTRACT

A display package or carton formed from a single foldable paperboard, cardboard or the like blank to include a first or bottom panel with a hingedly connected end closure or manufacturer&#39;&#39;s flap, a second or front panel juxtaposed the bottom panel for adhesive attachment thereto by means of the flap, a top panel, a pair of parallel side panels, and a rear panel parallel to but spaced from the front panel. The flap forms a joint completing assembly of the carton. The blank is suitable for erection into a carton by means of automatic packaging machinery which wraps the blank around the lading and discharges the package as a sealed container. Means are provided for selectively separating said front panel adjacent said manufacturer&#39;&#39;s flap, portions of the side panels and a portion of the rear panel from the sealed container to expose the lading and render the sealed container usable thereafter as a display tray holding the lading.

i United States Patent 1191 Dorofachuk et al.

14 1 Nov. 4, 1975 DISPLAY PACKAGE [73] Assignee: Stone ContainerCorporation, Chicago, lll.

[22] Filed: Mar. 27, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 455,147

[52] US. Cl 229/51 TS; 229/51 WB; 206/44 R [51] Int. CL? B65D 17/24;B65D 71/00; B65D 5/54 [58] Field of Search 229/37, 51 DB, 51 TS, 51 D,229/51 WB; 206/44 R [56] References Cited Primary Examiner-Davis T.Moorehead Attorney, Agent, or FirmSilverman & Cass, Ltd.

[57] ABSTRACT A display package or carton formed from a single foldablepaperboard, cardboard or the like blank to include a first or bottompanel with a hingedly connected end closure or manufacturers flap, asecond or front panel juxtaposed the bottom panel for adhesiveattachment thereto by means of the flap, a top panel, a pair of parallelside panels, and a rear panel parallel to but spaced from the frontpanel. The flap fonns a joint completing assembly of the carton. Theblank is suitable for erection into a carton by means of automaticpackaging machinery which wraps the blank around the lading anddischarges the package as a sealed container. Means are provided forselectively separating said front panel adjacent said manufacturersflap, portions of the side panels and a portion of the rear panel fromthe sealed container to expose the lading andrender the sealed containerusable thereafter as a display tray holding the lading.

8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 1 of 23,917,158

US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 2 of2 3,917,158

DISPLAY PACKAGE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThis invention relates generally to paperboard containers and moreparticularly to a novel display package or container capable of beingformed from a single blank in automatic packaging machinery which wrapsthe blank around the lading and discharges same as a sealedpackage.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the paperboard carton art, there aremachines for folding carton blanks with the lading or contents enclosedupon completion of the folding operation and thereafter discharging thepackages as sealed containers. One such blank folding machine isdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,665,675 and 3,531,914 owned by the sameassignee as this application. The folding operation described in saidpatents refers to a manufacturers lap or flap of the carton blank beingrequired to be secured to form the manufacturers joint of the assembledcontainer. Also, certain flaps disposed opposite to and spaced from thesaid joint must be secured. This folding or wrap-around operationrequires mating panels or flaps of the carton blank to be pressedagainst one another and held in face-to-face contact until adhesiveapplied therebetween sets or dries. Notwithstanding the recognizedproblems attendant the use of such carton blanks, these carton blanksare widely used in high speed carton folding machines and are desirablebecause of the economics they engender for manufacturers and theircustomers.

To open a sealed carton of this type, it was necessary to peel back themanufacturers lap and separate certain of the side flaps from theiradhesive juncture to other parts of the carton in order to expose thecontents or lading. Another method available for opening the carton wasto peel back the manufacturers lap and then physically cut or saw thetop panel of the carton from the remainder of the carton to expose thecontents. In this procedure, the carton was not really suitable for useas a display carton.

Cartons of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,744,705 which arecapable of being erected and discharged as sealed cartons by means ofautomatic carton folding machines are highly desired in the packagingfield because of the economics of this business. High volume users ofsuch packages desire high speed carton folding machines which willenable them to package their products rapidly and efficiently with dueregard that such previous cartons are regarded as disposable products.Consequently, in connection with certain products, it would be verydesirable to have a carton or package capable of being formed in highspeed carton folding machines of the character alluded to above whichcould be used as attractive display cartons or packages by retailoutlets after the cartons are opened. Such retail outlets thereby wouldbe enabled to use the same cartons in which they receive the products asdisplay packages in full view of retail customers and obviate the needand attendant cost for a separate display tray packaged withtheproducts. To enhance the appearance and information value with respectto the products, such cartons can be suitably imprinted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A wrap-around carton formed from a pre-scoredfoldable blank which includes multiple panels which can be folded byautomatic carton folding machines into a sealed package containing thelading. Upon erecting the carton blank, there is provided a so-calledmanufacturers flap for sealing the carton. The blank from which thecarton is formed has means for selectively separating certain panels andsections of panels from the sealed carton so as to transform this sealedcarton into a display package in which the lading is exposed and capableof being selectively withdrawn. In separating portions of the sealedcarton from the carton, there is left a tray part capable of holding thelading safely and conveniently while still permitting withdrawal ofparts of the lading selectively by customers desiring the product.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent tothe skilled artisan from the ensuing disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cartonblank embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the blank illustrated in FIG. 1 inpartially erected condition with the lading therein.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the carton completely assembled from theblank illustrated in FIG. 1 and having portions of the manufacturersflap broken away to show lines of perforations for separating portionsof the container to render same a display package.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a portion of the packagebeing separated from the sealed package of FIG. 3 to provide a displaytray which can function as the display package.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 1 there is illustrated acarton blank 10 which may be die cut from sheeting of paperboard, eithercorrugated or otherwise, by conventional automatic machinery. The blank10 is pre-scored for folding into a sealed carton designated 12 in FIG.3. There is provided a front panel 14, a rear panel 16 and a top panel18 joined between said front and rear panels. Lines of fold 20 areprovided to facilitate erection of the carton 12 in a well-known manner.Blank 10 includes a bottom panel 22 joined to rear panel 16 along a foldline 20 and terminates in a front flap 24, more commonly known as amanufacturers lap or flap. Side flaps 26, 28 are joined along lines offold to front panel 14 and side flaps 30, 32 are joined along lines offold to rear panel 16. Top panel l8.and bottom panel 22 respectively areprovided with like side flaps 34, 35 and 36, 37, as illustrated.

A line of perforations 38 extends laterally across the front panel 14parallel with and spaced inwardly from the outer free edge 39 of saidpanel. The line of perforations 38 has extensions thereof 40 extendingangularly across the flaps 26 and 28 to the lateral edge of the flap.The edge 39 is provided with an extension tab or tongue 42 designed tobe engaged in the slot 44 provided in the line of fold 46 by means ofwhich the panel 22 and the flap 24 are hingedly connected together. Theconstruction and operation of the tongue 42 and slot 44 are describedand claimed in U.S. Pat. No.

3 3,744,705. It is to be understood, however, that the carton blank canbe formed without the tongue 42 and slot 44.

Referring to FIG. 1, it can be seen that the dimensions of flaps 26, 28,30 and 32 are substantially the same, as is their configuration with theexception of the rounded corner 48 of each flap 30, 32. The outer freeedge 50 of each of flaps 34-37 is serpentine or S- shaped inconfiguration. As seen in FIG. 1, the serpentine edges 50 are alike inconfiguration and extend in the same descending direction from the outerfree edge of each toward the manufacturers flap 24. In thisconfiguration, upon assembly of the package, the edges 50 of panels 34and' 35 will register along the length thereof, as will be the case withedges 50 of flaps 36 and 37, albeit with a slight space between thefacing edges 50 as seen in FIG. 3. The space between said facing edgesof such in registry flaps is designated 51 for purposes of clarity inFIG. 3.

Certain of the above features of the carton blank 10 generally areconventional and comprise the usual panels and flaps of a standardcarton blank. Such blanks can assume a wide variety of configurationsand dimensions, specifics of which generally are dictated by the sizeand characteristics of the items intended to be packaged. However, allsuch cartons include at least a top and bottom and front and rear panel,at least one of such panels being provided with a manufacturers flap,such as hinged flap 24. As seen in FIG. 3, flap 24 abuts the front panel14 in a face-to-face relation with adhesive, preferably, applied tothose abutting surfaces so that the carton will remain assembled, asdesired.

In addition, rear panel 16 has a line of perforation which is generallyV-shaped and extending across the entire width of the panel 16. TheV-shaped line of perforations is defined by a leg 52 which extends fromthe lateral edge 53 at an angle to the line of fold and a second leg 54which extends from the opposite lateral edge 53 at an angle to the lineof fold 20 toward the leg 52. The legs 52 and 54 are joined by anarcuate portion 55 which is in the shape of a semi-circle located in amedial portion of the blank 16. Thus, this line of perforations dividesthe panel 16 into two parts 16a and 16b, with arcuate portion 55providing a sort of finger or digital pullout part for starting theseparation. It can be seen thatthe V-shaped line of perforations can bemodified to a straight line, however, the V-shape is preferred.

The carton blank 10 may be assembled manually, or as generally will bethe case, by a packaging machine, such as described in theaforementioned package machine patents. In FIG. 2, a partially assembledblank 10 is shown. The blank 10 is designed and adapted most effectivelyfor assembly about the items intended to be packaged. That is, the itemsare positioned on one of across the flaps 28 and 32 and a rectangulararea 62 of 65 adhesive extends across the front panel 14 contiguous thefree edge thereof and reaches to the line of perforations 38. Althoughnot seen, similar areas of adhesive 4 will be applied to the flaps 30and 26 on the remote side of the semi-erected carton of FIG. 2. It willbe noted that the adhesive areas cover only a portion of the entiresurface of the flap to which adhesive is applied to facilitateseparation of the carton into two parts, as more fully described below.Further, flaps 34-37 do not have adhesive applied thereto and hence,parts of these flaps do not engage adhesive areas 61.

Referring to FIG. 3, in the final assembly operation,

the flaps 35 and 37 have been folded into abutting rela-- tionship withthe flaps 28 and 32 with flaps 37 overlying the area of adhesive 61 andthe area of adhesive 61 below perforation line 40 and with a portion,35a of flap 35 overlying the area of adhesive 61 above perforation line40. Note that portion 35b of flap 35 is not adhered to flap 32. The sameoperation of folding will have been achieved with the opposite pair offlaps 34 and 36 on the opposited side of the blank 30. The manufacturersflap 24 has been folded upwardly intoabutting relationship with thepanel 14 and adhesively se- I cured over the area 62. It should be notedfrom FIG. 3,

however, that the width of the flap 24 is slightly greater than thewidth of the area of adhesive 62 such thatthe free edge 66 of themanufacturers flap 24 extends beyond the line of perforations 38 andthereby serves to cover said line of perforations 28 as seen in FIG.3.Also, edge 66 may be crushed slightly for a short distance so as toprevent said edge from being adhered to surface 62 and thereby expeditewithdrawal of flap 24.

The carton 12 is shown in FIG. 3 in the upright position it will takewhen stored, shipped or used. However, the orientation of the carton 12as it is formed in and ejected from the machine disclosed in US. Pat.No. 3,744,705 is one in which the manufacturers lap is ad jacent the toppanel of the package.

Referring to FIG. 4, it will be seen that the panel 14 can be separatedalong the line of perforations 38 and the panel 28 can be separatedalong the line of perforation 40. This permits the portion 35b of flap35 to be removed from its position adjacent flap 32, i.e., from theposition adjacent an adhesive-free area 60 of the flap 32 as seen inFIG. 4. Finally, rear panel 16 can be separated along the line ofperforations 52, 54 and 55 so that the separated portion of panel 14,entire panel; 18 and separated portion of panel 16 can be removed as abody designated 10a in FIG. 4, leaving a tray portion. The lading orcontents of the package, although not shown will be understood to remainon the tray part, withthe upstanding flap 24 and remaining frontwallportion 14a secured together to provide a short front wall for thedisplay tray.

As seen in FIG. 4, the display tray is formed of front wall 24, 14a,flaps 37, 32 and part of flap 28, rear wall section 16b and flaps 30, 36and part of 26a of flap 26, with parts 26a and the part of flap 28 beingadhesively secured respectively to flaps 36 and 37.

It is to be understood that the invention contemplates implementationthereof in connection with other than the specific configuration andsize of carton 10 shown by way of example.

What is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: I

l. A carton formed from a one-piece paperboard blank, said carton havingfour side panels defining top,

bottom, front and back walls of said carton and having opposite endwalls defined by overlapping secured flaps, each of said flaps formingpart of the end wall being hingedly connected to one of said wallforming panels, a front bottom flap hingedly connected to said bottomwall forming panel and overlapping and being secured to a minor portionof said front wall forming panel, said front wall having a line ofweakened strength extending generally parallel to said bottom wall at ashort distance from said bottom wall, the area between said line andsaid bottom wall defining said minor portion of said front wall to whichsaid front bottom flap is secured, said line of weakened strengthextending into and across said front flaps connected to said front wall,the area of each said front flap between said weakened line extensionsand said bottom wall defining said front flap portions, said bottomwall, said minor portion of said front wall adjacent said bottom wallwhich has said front flap secured thereto, a major portion of said backwall and portions of certain of said end wall forming flaps beingseparable from the remainder of said carton to form a display tray, saidend wall forming flaps being configured and secured together so as toenable such separation and to provide a tray having end walls eachdefined by a bottom flap which extends upwardly from said bottom walland which has a rear section secured to a back flap extending forwardlyfrom said back wall and a front section secured to at least a portion ofa front flap extending rearwardly from said minor portion of said frontwall at each end of said carton, said rear section extending furtherupwardly from said bottom wall than said front section to thereby formstepped end walls.

2. A sealed carton formed from a one-piece paperboard blank comprising,a front panel having a first flap adhesively secured substantially alongits entire length to the outer face thereof, a top panel hingedlyconnected to said front panel, a rear panel hingedly connected to saidtop panel and a bottom panel hingedly connected to the rear panel andhaving said first flap hingedly connected thereto, said panels eachhaving a pair of flaps foldably connected along opposite edges of thepanel to form together side panels of the carton, said front and rearpanels having perforation means extending thereacross to enableseparation of parts thereof one from the other, said perforation meanson the front panel extending generally parallel to said bottom panel ata short distance therefrom and extending into and across the pair offlaps connected thereto, to permit separation of portions of said lastmentioned flaps, said sealed carton being capable of being opened uponseparation of said designated parts to provide a display tray includingsaid bottom wall, said parts of the rear panel and side walls and saidfirst flap, said tray having a short front wall comprised of said firstflap and a part of said front panel, said short front wall being shorterthan said separated part of the rear wall forming part of said tray andthe end walls of said tray being stepped.

3. A carton as claimed in claim 2 in which certain of said pairs offlaps are substantially similar in configuration and dimensions.

4. A carton as claimed in claim 2 in which certain pairs of flaps aresubstantially identical in configuration, and each such flap has aserpentine-shaped outer edge arranged in substantial registry with alike outer edge of the second flap of the pair.

5. A carton as described in claim 2 in which said weakened line is aline of perforations of generally V- shape.

6. The carton according to claim 1 wherein, on each end of said carton,a top flap extends downwardly from said top wall to an edge thereofwhich is generally in registry with the opposing edge of said bottomflap, each said top flap having a rear section situated above said rearsection of said bottom flap and extending adjacent to but not secured tosaid back flap, and a front section which extends further downwardlyfrom said top wall than said rear section, which is situated above saidfrom section of said bottom flap, and which is secured to said frontflap above said weakened line extension.

7. The carton according to claim 6 wherein each said top flap andadjacent bottom flap are substantially identical and each has aserpentine-shaped outer edge arranged in substantial registry with alike outer edge of the adjacent flap.

8. The carton according to claim 1 wherein said rear section of eachsaid bottom flap extends further upwardly from said bottom wall thensaid front section thereby to form stepped end walls. l

1. A carton formed from a one-piece paperboard blank, said carton havingfour side panels defining top, bottom, front and back walls of saidcarton and having opposite end walls defined by overlapping securedflaps, each of said flaps forming part of the end wall being hingedlyconnected to one of said wall forming panels, a front bottom flaphingedly connected to said bottom wall forming panel and overlapping andbeing secured to a minor portion of said front wall forming panel, saidfront wall having a line of weakened strength extending generallyparallel to said bottom wall at a short distance from said bottom wall,the area between said line and said bottom wall defining said minorportion of said front wall to which said front bottom flap is secured,said line of weakened strength extending into and across said frontflaps connected to said fronT wall, the area of each said front flapbetween said weakened line extensions and said bottom wall defining saidfront flap portions, said bottom wall, said minor portion of said frontwall adjacent said bottom wall which has said front flap securedthereto, a major portion of said back wall and portions of certain ofsaid end wall forming flaps being separable from the remainder of saidcarton to form a display tray, said end wall forming flaps beingconfigured and secured together so as to enable such separation and toprovide a tray having end walls each defined by a bottom flap whichextends upwardly from said bottom wall and which has a rear sectionsecured to a back flap extending forwardly from said back wall and afront section secured to at least a portion of a front flap extendingrearwardly from said minor portion of said front wall at each end ofsaid carton, said rear section extending further upwardly from saidbottom wall than said front section to thereby form stepped end walls.2. A sealed carton formed from a one-piece paperboard blank comprising,a front panel having a first flap adhesively secured substantially alongits entire length to the outer face thereof, a top panel hingedlyconnected to said front panel, a rear panel hingedly connected to saidtop panel and a bottom panel hingedly connected to the rear panel andhaving said first flap hingedly connected thereto, said panels eachhaving a pair of flaps foldably connected along opposite edges of thepanel to form together side panels of the carton, said front and rearpanels having perforation means extending thereacross to enableseparation of parts thereof one from the other, said perforation meanson the front panel extending generally parallel to said bottom panel ata short distance therefrom and extending into and across the pair offlaps connected thereto, to permit separation of portions of said lastmentioned flaps, said sealed carton being capable of being opened uponseparation of said designated parts to provide a display tray includingsaid bottom wall, said parts of the rear panel and side walls and saidfirst flap, said tray having a short front wall comprised of said firstflap and a part of said front panel, said short front wall being shorterthan said separated part of the rear wall forming part of said tray andthe end walls of said tray being stepped.
 3. A carton as claimed inclaim 2 in which certain of said pairs of flaps are substantiallysimilar in configuration and dimensions.
 4. A carton as claimed in claim2 in which certain pairs of flaps are substantially identical inconfiguration, and each such flap has a serpentine-shaped outer edgearranged in substantial registry with a like outer edge of the secondflap of the pair.
 5. A carton as described in claim 2 in which saidweakened line is a line of perforations of generally V-shape.
 6. Thecarton according to claim 1 wherein, on each end of said carton, a topflap extends downwardly from said top wall to an edge thereof which isgenerally in registry with the opposing edge of said bottom flap, eachsaid top flap having a rear section situated above said rear section ofsaid bottom flap and extending adjacent to but not secured to said backflap, and a front section which extends further downwardly from said topwall than said rear section, which is situated above said front sectionof said bottom flap, and which is secured to said front flap above saidweakened line extension.
 7. The carton according to claim 6 wherein eachsaid top flap and adjacent bottom flap are substantially identical andeach has a serpentine-shaped outer edge arranged in substantial registrywith a like outer edge of the adjacent flap.
 8. The carton according toclaim 1 wherein said rear section of each said bottom flap extendsfurther upwardly from said bottom wall then said front section therebyto form stepped end walls.